


Lonely This Christmas

by Out-of-Character217 (Out_of_Character217)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Kissing, M/M, Yuffie is a menace and can’t be trusted, soft and fluffy stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 21:24:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17231459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Out_of_Character217/pseuds/Out-of-Character217
Summary: It’s Christmas Eve and Cloud still hasn’t shown up. Leon is definitely NOT brooding about it.For the Strifehart Secret Santa: my gift to Nochebo. Hope you enjoy the warm fluffy feelings





	Lonely This Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> My gift for the Strifehart Secret Santa 2018 - for Nochebo.

“Pleeeeeease Leon! Please, please, please, pleeeeeeease.” Yuffie was stood on tiptoes, hands clasped under her chin and eyes as big as saucers. Her classic triple threat gambit that got most people to give in to her demands either through guilt, emotional manipulation, or sheer annoyance; she was banking on it working for Leon as she stood on his porch and begged him to come join the party. Leon however was not an easy man to guilt trip. Neither was he susceptible to manipulation. Her only real chance was to annoy him to such a degree that he finally caved and even that was a hard won thing at times. The man had the patience of a saint.

“Look, can we just skip to the part where I say no and you leave?” 

Yuffie had to hand it to him, he did look tired, but when had a lack of sleep ever stopped Leon from doing anything? 

“Why, so you can mope around here all by yourself? It’s Christmas Eve!” 

“I’m not moping.” Leon’s frown deepened and Yuffie realised her chances of success were waning by the minute. All that was left was for Leon to fold his arms across his chest in stubborn defiance and that was it. She was done for. 

“Fine, brood then. Or whatever it is you tough guys like to call it. But would you please just come to the party?” 

“I told you, I’m not in the mood.” And there it was, the patented Leonhart scowl and pout, folded arms and all. 

“So? You’re never in the mood. What’s so special about tonight?” Her large doe eyes turned calculating and an evil grin crept across her face. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Cloud would it? You pining for him or something?” 

The moment the door slammed in her face was the moment Yuffie realised she’d probably crossed the line. 

Leon had to remind himself to unclench his jaw. It wasn’t Yuffie’s fault she’d guessed correctly. Certainly wasn’t her fault she’d somehow managed to work out that something had been happening between Radiant Garden’s two most eligible bachelors from only a handful of furtive glances and one badly timed and completely unplanned fumble behind Tifa’s bar. Yuffie had proclaimed her innocence of course. Wasn’t her fault she was the world's best ninja slash secret detective, and if Cloud and Leon wanted their make out sessions to be kept private then they should have picked a far more clandestine spot, thank you very much. Needless to say she had been holding the information hostage until it could be used to its fullest advantage, and Leon was beginning to worry that tonight would be the night. 

‘She wouldn’t…’ Leon tried to reassure himself. ‘I threatened to pull her arms off if she told. She wouldn’t…’ Cloud had threatened a lot worse, and the memory made Leon smile a little. But it disappeared again just as quickly. Annoying nosy ninjas aside, Yuffie was right. Cloud was gone. Had been gone for weeks now and with no sign or promise he’d be back before the holidays, Leon had been feeling the worst kind of surly for days. He was pining, and he could just kick himself for it.

“Hyne, get a grip, Squall.” Scolding himself didn’t seem to work, instead he looked about his empty kitchen and felt the absence of another presence all the more keenly. He could hear the party from here. Tinny music and gentle chatter, the odd bout of raucous laughter and drunken screeching, and perhaps he wouldn’t have been any more inclined to go even if Cloud had been there, but it certainly would have been one hundred times more bearable if he were. There had always been something deeply comforting about his silent presence; shared so amiably with Leon they were like two enigmatic bookends. And it wasn’t that Leon couldn’t find companionship in his other friends. He loved them all dearly, but… there was something in Cloud that reflected Leon. An understanding. A quiet acknowledgement of the soul that didn’t need words. He was a peaceful, private island in a sea of chaos, and sharing time and space with him had never felt like an exchange - a sacrificing of time for company or a giving up of privacy for comfort. It was, and always had been, a friendship of mutual empathy. In fact, Leon could hardly recall a time when he hadn’t wanted to share his space with Cloud. Which perhaps, in hindsight, should have been the largest sign that Leon was developing something more than just a crush. But a blind fool to his own feelings he’d always been. None of it prevented Cloud from disappearing for weeks at a time, and none of it helped the gaping loneliness Leon felt with his absence.

Another knock at the door had Leon clenching his fists again. ‘What now?...’

Turning on his heel, Leon yanked the door open, softening his scowl only slightly at the sight of Aerith on his porch, basket in hand. 

“I thought, if you weren’t coming to the party, then I could at least bring you something to eat.” She shrugged, ignoring the not too subtle air of tension. She handed it over with a knowing smile. “Cloud not back yet?” 

The question could have been an innocent one. Might have been forgiven for being a flippant, off hand enquiry that had no subtle undertones or implied references but for the fact that Aerith’s brows were cocked just so, and the cadence of her question had just the right amount of inference to it. 

“Thanks. And no, he isn’t.” Leon deadpanned. “You’ve been speaking to Yuffie then, I take it?”

Aerith shrugged, “she might have mentioned something about you brooding.” 

Leon made a mental note to relieve Yuffie of her arms sometime in the near future. 

“I’m not brooding.”

“Fine then, pining, whatever.” Aerith rolled her eyes, “Don’t forget to put that in the oven at two eighty.” She gave him a bright smile and then left, leaving Leon stood holding the basket and the door. He closed it with a huff and put the basket on the table. He wasn’t hungry. And he wasn’t brooding. He certainly wasn’t pining, he was… he was… ‘You’re being pathetic.’ He scolded himself, screwing his eyes shut with a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘You’re tired. You should just go to bed. Get this whole stupid day over with.’ 

Sleep did sound like an excellent idea. There was nothing to stay up for and he’d been overworking himself lately, an early night would be just what he needed. 

Securing the house and switching the lights off didn’t take long, and ten minutes later he was climbing the stairs ready for bed. 

His room was dark when he closed the door, familiar shadows cast across the hardwood floor and the comforting creaks and groans of the house settling down put him in an easier mood. It was familiar and calming, and the press of the outside world didn’t seem so urgent in here. 

“I thought they’d never leave.” A voice spoke from the shadows by his bed. Leon whipped around, heart momentarily in his mouth, startled and caught unawares before his brain caught up with him and he recognised the soft baritone.

Cloud stepped forward, the shadows melting away as he looked at Leon with a small grin and eyes that glinted with something mischievous.

“Where the hell have you been?” Leon tried to sound angry. Tried to scowl and convey exactly how pissed he really was, but couldn’t fight the returning smile that pulled at the corner of his mouth as Cloud held something up in his hand.

“Had to make a pit stop. For supplies.” He twirled the spring of mistletoe between his fingers, watching it spin between them. 

Leon couldn’t help the small huff of laughter. Incredulous and exasperated, but definitely, undeniably happier as he raked his eyes back up to settle on Cloud’s soft face. He was smiling back at him, a gentle smirk that Leon didn’t know if he wanted to kiss or kick off his face. Settling for his better judgement, Leon stepped forward and grabbed a hold of Cloud’s sweater, pulling him in towards him in one quick motion before he crashed their lips together, earning a startled cry from Cloud that was abruptly cut off and swallowed by the kiss. 

He felt Cloud soften against him, his smirk still tangible through the kiss as Leon eased Cloud’s mouth open with his tongue; his hand snaking up the back of Cloud’s neck, securing him in place as he pressed himself harder up against him. 

Cloud pulled back with a soft gasp, panting a little and stared at Leon with large eyes. “Missed me?” He joked, only half serious as he recognised the subtle longing in Leon’s eyes. A small swell of guilt pooling in his gut when that longing turned to embarrassment. “I missed you too.” He added quickly, sliding a hand up against Leon’s cheek. The small smile he got in response cooled some of the heat in his face, dampening the shame of mocking something Leon found difficult to express. 

“Next time, just let me know how long you’re gonna be gone.” Was all Leon said, voice low and private and a little husky. 

“Deal,” Cloud replied, running his thumb back and forth across Leon’s cheek before he leaned in and kissed him again.


End file.
